Numerical Simulation of Miniature Mutual Inductance Type Leak Detector for FBTR

Early detection of water or steam leaks into sodium in the steam generator units of liquid-metal-cooled fast breeder reactors is an important requirement from safety and economic considerations. Among the various methods used worldwide, one widely accepted technique is monitoring the increase in the hydrogen concentration in sodium. The increase in hydrogen concentration is due to the dissolution of the hydrogen produced during the process of sodium–water reaction. Thus any increase of H2 from the stabilised background value indicates a leak in the steam generator. A nickel-diffuser-based instrumentation has been installed in Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) at Kalpakkam, India, to detect the hydrogen concentration in liquid sodium. Any failure of nickel diffuser can make the whole system unavailable and hence it is required to be detected. This paper details the optimisation of design parameters for the development of a miniature mutual inductance type leak detector for the detection of sodium le...